Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, confirmed on Friday that "at least 2,000" of the more than 100,000 Afghan refugees who entered the United States after the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 are "associated with terrorism or are known terrorists or suspected terrorists."

In a television interview, Director Gabbard said, "Let's go back to the summer and fall of 2021, after President Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan."

She added, "That disastrous withdrawal brought more than 100,000 people into our country. The majority of them were not properly screened… far below the standards that this administration requires for people entering our country."

On Thursday, during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Joe Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testified that approximately 18,000 "known or suspected terrorists" were allowed to enter the United States under the Biden administration.

Kent stated, "These are individuals who, due to their affiliation with jihadist groups like ISIS or Al-Qaeda, would never have been allowed to enter the country under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, the Biden administration allowed their entry and facilitated it."

Gabbard said Kent's remarks pointed to a heightened domestic threat within the United States. This threat, while "not often discussed or addressed," was brought to light by shooting incidents involving two National Guard soldiers: Sergeant Sarah Beckstrom of the U.S. Army, who died from her injuries, and Sergeant Andrew Wolfe of the U.S. Air Force, who was seriously injured.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan combatant reportedly who served in one of the CIA-led "Zero Units," has been charged in connection with an attack that occurred in Washington D.C. the day before Thanksgiving.

Gabbard said, "The recent tragedy has drawn attention to how many individuals associated with or suspected of associations with Islamic terror jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda or ISIS entered our country during the previous administration."

She added, "There are undoubtedly many more individuals we do not know about, given that tens of millions of people have crossed our borders illegally over the past four years."

Gabbard added that President Donald Trump "worked very hard to keep his promise to make America safe again and to ensure that our people could feel safe in their homes and communities."

She explained that intelligence agencies are working with the Department of Homeland Security to "prevent further attacks domestically" by identifying and deporting potential terrorists.

She stated that she has not been able to secure the latest statistics on those involved due to "the irresponsible and dangerous approach taken by the Biden administration."

Gabbard said, "We are working through the National Counterterrorism Center, in conjunction with the FBI and DHS, to review these individuals one by one."

She added that the presence of potential terrorists is "the greatest short-term and long-term threat to the safety and security of the American people, and to the fundamental freedoms that exist within our Constitution and Western civilization," especially as Al-Qaeda and ISIS continue to plot attacks against the U.S. homeland.

Meanwhile, Gabbard, who served for years in the Hawaii National Guard and is currently an Army Reserve officer in addition to her role as Secretary of State, said that remarks made by Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson on Thursday at a hearing, where he referred to the National Guard attack in Washington as an "unfortunate accident," were "absolutely infuriating."

Thompson, during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Thursday that called Secretary Kristi Noem as a witness, said "unfortunate accident," and then, after being challenged by Noem with, "It was an accident that soldiers who were on duty were attacked by terrorists?", he appeared flustered and modified his statement to "unfortunate situation."

Gabbard pointed out, "He is a very high-ranking leader in Congress and has led the Homeland Security Committee for a long time."

She added, "His remarks also point to a serious and long-standing issue we have been witnessing, which is that some leaders from both parties refuse to call the threat of Islamist terror what it is. This is one of the reasons why we are in the situation we are in today."

U.S. NNP=Reporter Hong Seong-gu / Special to this newspaper NNP info@newsandpost.com